Rule Breakers, not Chain Breakers

Intro

The first part of this blog post focused on people who chase their dreams and work hard to achieve everything they have ever wanted. They know what situations to put themselves in and what situations to stay out of. The opposite of those people are the rule breakers of sports. The people who have the possibility to break the chains of where they come from and what they were raised in but who fail to do so. 

They are Aaron Hernandez. 

They are the people who don't know how to get out of the lifestyle they were raised in and make a better life, even after they are handed the keys to the better life. 

The Better Life

This morning, Aaron Hernandez was in his "better life" home in Attleboro when his inabilities to get away from the life of gangs and guns he was raised in caught up to him. Police appeared at his house this morning and escorted him in a white t-shirt and red gym shorts to a police cruiser where he was taken to the local district court and charged with 1st-degree murder and five gun related counts. 

I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that he is guilty because there is no validation of that yet. There is a ton of circumstantial evidence that surrounds Aaron Hernandez and either way, I don't see his NFL career ever being around again. We love giving people second chances and someone like Ray Lewis is a great example of it, but something in my gut tells me that Hernandez wouldn't change if he did get another chance.

I don't know what it is about some people but they can't seem to get away from trouble. It's almost like they don't want to. I know people who were in a bad situation, moved to a better one and still found ways to get into trouble. You can sit down with them, tell them how stupid and moronic their behavior was, they completely agree with you and then the cycle continues a few weeks later. 

When you look at the track record of Aaron Hernandez, he has always been a troubled individual. From his childhood, to college years, to now being charged with 1st-degree murder, it keeps increasing. 

He may not be given another chance to screw up if found guilty of murder. He'll be in jail for many years and his life will essentially be over. The echoes of this crime just show you how important it is of who you surround yourself with. 

Break the Chain

I've never been involved in any gang activity. I don't know what the lives of many people in urban America are like. I can only imagine what I see and hear from music, television, movies, and people who have been through it. 

One common thing that I hear from the people who break out of it, is how they must break the chain. How they don't want their children to go through the same things they went through. This doesn't seem to be the mindset of many people who make it in sports from these places.

I credit the pressure of your peers from the ghetto trying to ride your coattails to the top as one thing that causes people who make it out to fall back in. I also credit the sense of community built in these areas through gangs or association of being from the same 'hood. When you make it out, you're told that you owe it to these people to give back. You're told that you're changing if you try to live a straight life and distance yourself from it all.

This is how so many people fail to stay successful when they make it out of these environments. They get brought back down by their peers. You must break the chain when you come from any place where you had to overcome extreme odds to succeed. You will always have someone who knew you before you were at that peak and that will say you changed or you owe them something. Don't listen to them. 

They are just jealous of the success you're about to have and want some of it for themselves. You must be intelligent and distance yourself from idiots. I understand that kids make mistakes and most things people do under the age of 21, I have some will to forgive them. Once you get into your mid-20s or have the opportunity to get away from it at a younger age, then you have no excuses. 

All Behind Bars NFL Team

One striking statistic that I came across today was that near 30 NFL players have been arrested since the Super Bowl. That's enough to field an entire NFL team. Business Insider published a list of the active players and their crimes, and it is quite disturbing how many players are in trouble.

Yes, the NFL has around 2,000 players but that means about 2% of the league has been arrested since the Super Bowl. How many other businesses have 2% of its employees behind bars? 

This is a serious problem within the NFL. It isn't like all of these charges are for simple things. There are a slew of DUIs, disorderly conducts, bar fights, marijuana possession, and on and on. 

The NFL needs to fix this problem. I haven't heard of issues like this in any other league since Gilbert Arenas was flashing guns in the locker room years ago in the NBA. I haven't heard of any players in the NBA getting arrested. Other than the steroid problem in baseball, they don't have any criminals. NASCAR, the NHL, soccer, they don't have it happening. 

The NFL had two murder related arrests just today! You can't have enough people in trouble that you could field a team of criminals.

Since the Super Bowl there has been one player arrested in the NBA. You know, the league that people stereotype as being a bunch of blacks from the ghetto running around with a ball on the court. The NBA has its act together. The NBA is the league your kids should be watching. Look at the top stars of the NBA. LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Tim Duncan, Kyrie Irving. None of them have any criminal records. You've never heard of any of them getting in any type of trouble. The NBA arrest was Terrence Williams for an assault charge. 

Sports Arrest Leaders Since the Super Bowl

The New York Jets have had more arrested in May (3) than the other major sports in America have had since the Super Bowl. If you add in Chad Johnson and Titus Young, then the NFL number is up to 29. 

NFL:           29 (27 active) 

NBA:            1

NASCAR:     1

NHL:             0

Soccer:         2

This is a bigger issue than one kid not being able to get away from the people who he knew before he became a star. This is about a league wide epidemic of people getting in trouble.

If you're ever given a chance to live out your dreams or take a risk that pays off huge, don't be a rule breaker who throws everything away, be a chain breaker who exceeds to new heights. 

P.S. - Have you seen Mark Sanchez being an idiot on film? 

Thanks for reading!

- Tim

Dream Chasers and Risk Takers

Intro

This will be the first part of a two part blog post today. This first part will focus on that moment when you need to make the tough decision in your life. When you have a comfortable situation you're living in but you put it on the line for something better. As a recent college graduate, I am in that situation. Should I take the easy route with a job that utilizes my degree but isn't quite what I want to do, or should I chase my dreams, put it out on the line and fight to get to my ultimate goals? After some thought the past few weeks, i'm going to go with the latter. 

While this topic has been on my mind lately for personal reasons, there are current sports stories that deal with this in a very relevant way. Specifically, Doc Rivers choosing to move from Boston to LA to coach the Clippers. 

Doctor's Orders

Each of the past two or three seasons there have been some grumblings of Doc Rivers making an exit from coaching altogether or moving to a different team, and nine days after the story surfaced, the deal is complete and the Clippers are paying Doc around $7 million a year to coach and lead the Los Angeles Clippers for the next three years. 

Was this a move of Doc Rivers chasing his dreams? I'd say yes. I think he had a realization over the past couple weeks or so that he didn't want to spend the rest of his career working on rebuilding the Celtics to be contenders in a young and talented Eastern Conference. 

Not that the Western Conference in the NBA is any easier, but Doc is already starting with a leg up talent wise. The current Celtics roster at one time several years ago was much more talented. Now, the stars are getting old. Ray Allen left after last season. Garnett and Pierce could be gone this year and Rivers has his issues with the youngest and most talented of the Celtic's stars, Rajon Rondo. 

Doc wants a couple more solid shots at winning an NBA title and thinks the young talent of the Clippers has a great opportunity in an ever-changing league. Chris Paul is one of the 10 best players in the league and the young nucleus that surrounds him is a few pieces away from being the favorite in the West. 

Doc is a risk taker and a dream chaser because he decided that he wanted to make a move to take a shot at another NBA championship. He didn't want to rebuild with the Celtics for three years, get them on the verge of a title, be physically worn out from coaching, retire, and give someone else his team with a chance to win. 

He could have stayed cozy in Boston. He was adored by the fans, respected by the players, and admired by the organization. He didn't want to coast off into the sunset with a couple more 46-36 seasons with an exit in the second or third round of the playoffs each year and go down as a great coach with one title. 

I wish Doc the best of luck in Los Angeles. If they add the right pieces then I think they will be a favorite in the West and have a great chance to compete with Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Golden State, and Denver at the top of the conference.

The Decision

You all hated LeBron for making "The Decision" to go to Miami with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Isn't that what life is all about? Take whatever field you're in and put together the hypothetical to work with some of the best in your profession, for one of the best CEOs or bosses, and tell me you wouldn't take it? 

If you didn't take it, i'm guessing you're the type of person who has lived within 10 miles of your hometown your entire life. That's okay. You can choose a life like that if you want. I'm not here to tell you how to live, but put yourself in the shoes of people who are risk takers and dream chasers. When the opportunity is there, they must take it. They don't plan years in advance on how to make their next move. They simply see an opportunity, sit down and think about it, and make a decision. When people are in certain businesses, they must take all of the opportunities they can get because they hold positions that people highly value. 

If you're in the media, the head of a company, a coach, etc. then you have a highly regarded job. There are hundreds of people out there just waiting for an opportunity to take your job. You also have a shorter time to achieve greatness. If you're in the media and get the opportunity to host your own show on a small local network and then NBC comes along and wants to pick up your show and broadcast it nationally, you better jump on it. The same thing goes for coaches and players in the NBA. There are only a small amount of elite positions available and the market of potential competitors is endless. So, when the moment comes where you can make the jump to the top, take it. 

Personality Test

There is a lot of talk about Type 'A' and Type  'B' personalities. This is a theory of two contrasting theories of personality that most people fall under. 

People who are Type 'A' personalities are the people who are risk takers and dream chasers. They are the people who go and get things done. They don't wait around for things to happen. They are focused and dedicated to being successful. They fill their plate and go for it all. They don't wait around and hope for the situation to come to them. 

The Type 'B' personalities are the people who tend to be more relaxed. They take an "if it gets done, it gets done" approach to many things. They look for a simpler life and usually end up staying in the same type of place from which they were raised and are completely satisfied with it. 

I think I fall somewhere in between the two. I have many Type 'A' qualities but can also take a step back and enjoy the moment. I think everyone should look for some type of balance in their life and not lean too far toward one type or the other. If you have it in you, and are a Type 'A' personality, your level for success is going to be much higher because you are going to work like crazy to get there. 

Working like crazy is exactly what the LeBrons and Doc Rivers of the world did, so don't berate them or hate them for leaving a situation they were in for a better one. They did the work to be in that position. They aren't disloyal for leaving Cleveland and Boston, they spent plenty of time in those places and gave a lot to both cities. A better opportunity for them came along and they took it. Don't hate, understand.

On the Flip Side

Tune back in later today for a second blog post that is focused on people who are given a chance to be successful and can't seem to get away from the evils that haunt them to stay successful, "Rule Breakers, not Chain Breakers" 

Thanks!

- Tim

The Future of Sports

Social Media and Statistics

When thinking about the future of sports, I don't want to think about robots and outlandish possibilities.  I want to look at the trends that are starting today and where they will head in the future. One of the biggest things to happen in society over the past several years has been the prominence of social media. We are such a connected society with the ability to communicate with everyone around us. We can now directly contact athletes with a chance that they'll reply to us. 

Where is this going to go in the future? I think eventually a league will incorporate this into games. All of the networks already have it integrated where they will show tweets or trending topics during games. Soon a league that has some struggles will decide it's time to have social media utilized within the game. I'm not sure exactly how they'll do it, but I see a day where a player scores a touchdown and his celebration is tweeting 140 characters at a computer set up in the back of the end zone. I don't think football will be the first one to do it, but I could see that happening one day. 

Along with the technological advancements of communication through social media is the advancement of statistical analysis collected. 

We now have graphs and stats that focus on every single possession in a baseball game. Sabre Metrics in baseball have completely changed how many teams operate. New ratings for QBs in the NFL are being created. This trend is only going to continue. Eventually I see the leagues embracing this even more than they do right now. I see some type of micro-processor being placed inside a football to calculate the speeds more accurately that a QB throws, and calculate how soft a receivers hands are. 

Technology allows a wealth of knowledge and data to be collected through many means. In a couple years we're going to be able to look at individual statistics for players in every environment possible. There are already projections that can be done to predict the tendencies of athletes in certain situations. The advancement of technology is only going to further this along.

Safety First

Over the past several months, a few football players have spoken up and said that football won't exist in 20 or 30 years. First it was the Baltimore Ravens Bernard Pollard, and last week it was Detroit Lions Hall of Famer Lem Barney. 

The reasoning is that football is too violent of a sport and eventually nobody will want to play it because of the possibility of head injuries that linger after your career has ended. Well, since I just spent several paragraphs talking about technology, i'll once again offer it up as the solution.

I was raised watching NASCAR. I don't follow it as closely as I used to, but when I was about 10 years old in 2001 and Dale Earnhardt died, the sport changed forever. Along with the death of Earnhardt were several other serious injuries and deaths in racing that called for a change.

This caused NASCAR to make a complete revamp of its safety precautions and changed the way the sport operated. Every component on the car was improved and made safer. The walls around the tracks were changed from extremely hard concrete barriers to safer walls that had some flexibility and give to absorb blows. Restraints were required by NASCAR to ensure higher safety for all drivers, and the sport has survived because of this.

If the money is there, and the money was there for NASCAR, so it's surely there for the NFL, then changes can be made to make the game safer. I don't think we'll see a day where all of the players are in giant robotic suits playing, but I do see safer helmets, pads, and neck supports being created. 

I can see the number of transcendent talents in the NFL dropping over the next few years while these changes are made but I don't see the sport in any real danger. If the NFL wants to be serious about protecting its players, then it will make the necessary changes to get the league to a place where safety is secured. 

It might take a couple years to get the NFL to that place, but it can be done. That doesn't mean there will never be another concussion in the sport, but there will be less. We won't have the days of Junior Seau killing himself because of the head injuries he sustained playing the sport. Hopefully we will see the day where science comes through with a solution for the NFL to prevent those type of injuries from happening again. 

I'll See You in the Future

I wanted to touch on those two important points. Now, I want to give a broader view of where I see sports in 20, 30 and even 50 years. I think it only gets better for the sports fan. There will be more ways to interact with your favorite athlete, team, or league. We will have more access to sports. There will be more data available, and more opportunity to be a part of the sport.

Some sports won't be as popular as they are today. Some sports will be even more popular. If I had to make some bets, I would say that soccer will have a bigger place in America and MLS will be bigger than MLB. 

Football will have gone through a transcendent period where safety changes have made the game better. We just have to hope that we don't see a talent strike because of the people pointing out the issues with safety in football today. If I had a young son that wanted to play football, i'd probably steer him toward another sport.

I think hockey will also have some major changes to improve safety and attempt to give us a better game. I think there will be other sports that grow in popularity because of the ease of access to spread a message to the world. Remember when the World Series of Poker was big? I could see a few smaller sports take a center stage for a few years in the future like poker did.

Either way, I know I will be tuned in to see what changes come to the world of sports over the next 20 years and beyond. I hope you will keep the same love of sports you have today in the future and embrace change. 

Thanks for reading today! I'll be back next week with four new blog posts. Now that the NBA is over, it's time to start focusing on football, baseball playoffs and more. 

- Tim

Special Edition: LeBron's Legacy

Back to Back MVP

I don't know how much of my fan base listens to rap music, but I do. When I think of LeBron the T.I. line about "the king back now..." comes into my mind. It's rather fitting after he is a back to back champion.  LeBron received his status of "King James" from his play and his stature over everyone around him. What makes him a king in my book is how he acts. He is a true champion. He exemplifies everything I want to idolize. He can enjoy the moment. Think about the coaches and players who always try to keep it cool and wouldn't have been on stage with a huge smile doing a little bounce back and forth with the Larry O'Brien and Bill Russell trophies in their hands. LeBron knows what the moment is and seizes it. If it's being straight faced and focused late in a must win game or celebrating when it's over, he knows what to do.

Beyond seizing the moment, LeBron is a perfect example to any kid who has ever been picked on. He allows his actions to speak louder than his words. He doesn't need to make some strong statement about proving the media and his naysayers wrong in a press conference. He delivers a fantastic game 6, scores 37 points, 12 rebounds, a bunch of assists, several late jumpers that sealed the deal, and two clutch free throws to win his second NBA title and MVP of the finals. 

He realizes that he was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be in the NBA and isn't taking it for granted. LeBron is an athlete that most people don't see anymore. He is under constant scrutiny and still comes out unblemished with another ring on his finger. He is a true champion and stand up guy in every sense of those terms. 

That's why i'm giving you guys a late night special edition about LeBron's legacy. He inspired me tonight with his performance and I want to take a look at why he is so great.  

"I Ain't Got No Worries" 

I'm not sure if he was quoting the Lil Wayne song or not, but LeBron James has absolutely nothing to worry about right now. If this performance wasn't enough to douse the flame of hate against him for leaving Cleveland and struggling in the 2011 finals, then nothing ever will. 

As he said, he couldn't care less. He is a true champion. He is the most talented player I have ever seen play the game of basketball, he is a class act with amazing character, and he has proven the masses wrong over and over the past two years.

Everyone thought Indiana had a chance to beat the Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals, LeBron drops 32/8/4 in a dominating win. Game 6 against the Spurs, LeBron makes two bad plays but hits a big 3-pointer late and then gets help from Chris Bosh and Ray Allen. Last year against the Celtics in an elimination game 6, he scored 45 points and had 15 rebounds to stay alive in Boston. They said he wasn't clutch two years ago. Since that time, he's been clutch every time he was called on.

There was a switch that clicked with LeBron after losing to the Mavericks in 2011. He realized he didn't need to listen to what other people said about him. He didn't need to be hypersensitive to the media. He just needed to play his game. After that loss is when the switch flipped. We got to see it for the first time in the series against the Bulls last year when LeBron closed them out with great performances. Then, he followed it up in Boston and willed his team to the title after a game 1 loss to Oklahoma City. 

This year it was more of the same from LeBron. When the moment was the most dire, he had the games he needed to and won. LeBron ain't got no worries, but he does have two rings.

Legacy Solidified

I know you don't agree with this if you're almost anyone between the ages of 17 and 100 but LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan. I've been saying this since he beat Boston in game 6 of the playoffs last year, and I've been saying that he would be the best ever when it's all said and done for several years now. 

I want to write and ask you all to put away your nostalgia of M.J. for a minute but I can't do that to you. I know where you're coming from. M.J. was great. He was the best ever until 370 some days ago. When LeBron scored 45 points and 15 rebounds against the Celtics, I knew it was over. The legacy started to build and come to fruition and with his second title tonight, it was solidified.

Here's why I pick LeBron over M.J. 

1.) It's about every facet of the game to me. It's about scoring, rebounding, assisting, blocking, defense, etc. Both of these players had/have immense talent at those skills, but LeBron has to use all of those skills every single night. He led the Heat in 9 categories last night. His all-around game is more complete to me than Michael's was. Look at the stats, LeBron's big games have him with a packed box score and Michael's games had 45 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist. LeBron has 37 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 4 steals, 9 of 11 free throws, and dominant defense. 

2.) Following my first point, LeBron is the better teammate. He makes everyone around him better. He sets them up for open looks. He gets into the right position so they can make a good decision of passing or shooting. He cares deeply about the guys he plays with. They are his brothers. They are a family. I was young for most of Jordan's dominance but I always got  this vibe that Jordan knew he was on a level above everyone and acted accordingly.

3.) LeBron is a better person. Now you say that we should only judge them by what they do on the court. Why? If you're the greatest at something, everything you do is put under a microscope. If i'm picking out an idol or role model for someone, i'm picking LeBron first and Jordan will probably be an undrafted free agent. I like the drive and ferocity of Jordan. He was an assassin. That's one way to operate. I like how LeBron does it better. He would rather go down with the crew over abandoning ship to save himself. I want my kids to learn the qualities that LeBron has over Michael. Too many people say you need to be heartless and vicious to be successful. LeBron shows that isn't true. You have to be dedicated, work hard and put everything you have into something to be successful, but you can do it without being arrogant. 

LeBron has the qualities as a player and a person that make me so positively sure that he is the best player I have ever seen. 

Feel free to call me crazy and defend Michael until you're blue in the face. I've heard a handful of stories from people about M.J. being a jerk. I don't care how great you are. You have to earn my respect. I respect what M.J. did on a basketball court but that's as far as that goes. I respect everything LeBron has done, not just basketball.

Maybe that doesn't mean anything to you but when I hear LeBron talk about seeing his name on the back of his jersey and knowing that he wasn't even supposed to be here, it makes me happy. It makes me appreciate him that much more because he appreciates those moments. 

Closing Remarks

I want to pay a moment of respect to the San Antonio Spurs. They were one of the first teams I watched when I got into basketball because they were successful and on TV when I started watching. I always enjoyed watching Tim Duncan and Co. play so efficiently. It was beautiful. The Spurs were one of the first teams I rooted for because I was 7 or 8 when they started this dominating era. Now i'm 22. I have always had a place for the Spurs in my heart but since LeBron entered into the league I have been a fan of him. I was a bit torn when the two faced off the first time. This time I was all in for LeBron. That doesn't take away my respect for Popovich, Duncan, Ginobli, Parker and the great system that San Antonio has in place. Tim Duncan might decide to retire after this year. I don't think Ginobli or Parker will ever be as good as they have been in the past and Popovich will probably leave coaching in a few years. This could be the closing of an era and I just want to say, congratulations to everything that San Antonio has accomplished in the past 15 years. Their organization is a model one that does things the right way. 

Thanks for reading. I'll bring my regularly scheduled blog post sometime in the early afternoon hours. We're talking about where sports will be in 50 years.

Congratulations to the Miami Heat!! 2013 NBA Champions!! Congratulations to LeBron James!! 2013 NBA Finals MVP!!

- Tim 

 

Are Athletes Role Models?

Cover Your Kid's Eyes

There are many athletes in sports today that are selfish, criminal, cheaters, crybabies, and negative influences on children as a role model. A recent story that just broke brings this to the forefront. The New England Patriots' receiver Aaron Hernandez may have just cashed in his NFL career because he couldn't get away from trouble.

If you haven't heard the story, it goes something like this. All of the details aren't out, but here's the cliffnotes. Hernandez had a rental car registered in his name, and a dead body was found in it. At first he wasn't tied to it as a suspect. Now, he seems to be a possible suspect. In light of all of this, Sports Illustrated reported that teams had concerns about gang affiliation by Hernandez in Bristol, CT before he was drafted.

I was going to write this story yesterday but some things came up and I'm glad I didn't because this story gave me great relevance for my discussion.

The main thing that people need to take away from situations like this is that a lot of people don't really change who they are when they become famous or successful. Especially people who grow up in an environment with a gang mindset. The gang, hip-hop culture has a strong stance on people forgetting where they grew up, and who they grew up with. When someone becomes successful out of this culture they have people around them who say, "Don't change when you're famous. Don't forget about all the times I had your back. We're the reason you got to this point."

While those things may be true for many situations, if you want to be a successful and respected person then you can't hang around shady people. It doesn't matter if you grew up with them, they're your family, or any affiliation you have with them. No shady people allowed if you want to be respected.

When it's all said and done, Aaron Hernandez may end up out of a career, in jail for a number of years, and back to square one with all of the other nobodys that he seemed to surround himself with in the past.

People like Hernandez can't be a role model to your kids. The most he can be is an example. He should be an example. This is what not to do. Don't be affiliated with gangs. Don't be involved with shady people. If you grew up in this environment and have an opportunity to leave it behind...go! You don't have any restraints because these people knew you before you were successful and famous. Yeah, i'm sure some of them helped you along at some point, but you made it and they didn't. It might sound very harsh but if you want to stay successful and stay respected, and stay out of jail, then remove yourself from these situations.

Open Their Eyes 

While people like Aaron Hernandez are out their in abundance, we also have some great role models in sports. There are a ton of great people out there who epitomize exactly what a role model should be. They work hard. They train hard. They know the right things to say and make the right moves in life to set an example to everyone.

One person who many of you love to hate, and I just love,  is LeBron James. In his media session prior to Game 7, he said something that absolutely solidified why he is a great role model to me. Now, many of you bring up things about him leaving Cleveland and "The Decision" and all of that stuff. 

I don't look at any of that as a negative. He saw a better opportunity and he took it. There is a certain point in life that i'm sure anyone would tell their kids or closer friends or anyone looking for advice that if they aren't happen in their current situation then they should move. LeBron wasn't given the opportunities he wanted to succeed in Cleveland, so he moved to Miami. I agree that he didn't need an hour TV special to announce it, but i'm sure that wasn't all his decision. A lot of that was his agent and ESPN making it into a spectacle. 

LeBron exemplifies qualities that anyone should desire. He is the best player in the world and still spends every day working to get better. He spends his off-season, his vacation time, training to improve aspects of his game. He doesn't take a day off. He shows his emotions on his sleeve and isn't afraid to show you who he is. Sometimes he tries to sell a call a little too much and is very verbal with the referees, but he understands the moment. He is aware of what he is trying to accomplish in the game. 

In the aforementioned soundbite, he was asked about how fans were rooting against him in Game 7 against the Spurs. His response exemplified his character perfectly. He said something along the lines of, "I'm still going to show up to the stadium. I'm still going to put on my jersey and play hard for my team. When you look at the situation I came from, I wasn't supposed to make it here but i'm blessed that I did. I'm not going to take that for granted because every time I walk into the locker room and see my name on the back of an NBA jersey, I know the hard work I had to put in to make it here." 

That is exactly what I want a role model to say. He understands that people won't always be on your side. He doesn't let it bother him. He looks at the things he has had to overcome in life and is grateful to be where he is today. He isn't selfish or arrogant about being as great as he is. He appreciates the people who have helped him make it to this place and knows that he must work with his teammates to win his second championship. If you can here all of that and still hate LeBron James then I suggest you look in a mirror and do some self-evaluation. 

If you had to choose a role model for your kids, would you rather have the hard working LeBron James, who is humble, appreciative, respectable, and grateful for what he achieved, or the Aaron Hernandez who is on the verge of throwing it all away because he couldn't get away from a certain crowd? 

I'm going to take LeBron James everyday. I'm going to take LeBron over people who stack up much better as role models than Aaron Hernandez. I'd take LeBron over Tim Tebow, Michael Jordan, Derek Jeter and on and on. 

I want my role models to be people who have gone through the adversity and realize how hard they have to work to achieve greatness. I want a role model who is grateful for the people who support them and know that they are at the top of their game.

Why You Can't Look Away

Sorry Babe

The game is on. You have chips, beer, and everything else ready to go. Your favorite team is playing in a huge game. Your wife/girlfriend comes in and starts to tell you about her day. Somewhere in the middle of her speech about how she can't stand Heather at work, you realize that you care infinitely more about this game you're about to watch than what she has to say. Don't worry. Your relationship isn't over. Here are the reasons why we love sports so much.

An Evolved Species

Charles Darwin. Not a name that you hear when talking about sports everyday, right? Well, his discovery and research into Evolution give a ton of insight into why humans love sports so much. Evolution is the change and development of characteristics over time due to your surroundings. There are so many inner-workings within sports that play directly into evolving and improving. We get to see athletes constantly improve their abilities. We get to see coaches evolve their strategy. We see the game evolve and sometimes devolve into something worse than we once knew (a.k.a baseball). 

But beyond all of that talk of evolution within the sport, we are creatures of evolution. We all strive for improvement. We all want to be better than we were the last time we did something. We are working hard to get better. When we see that within athletes and teams, it resonates within us. 

Social Creatures

In that evolution, we have become very social creatures. We have feelings, hopes, desires, aspirations, fears, and beliefs. Some of those fears, desires and hopes revolve around how other people view us. We hope to fit in. We desire some attention. We fear being shunned. Sports allow us to view all of those things. Do you want some attention? Do some research and pick a dark horse to do something fantastic. Do you want to fit in and not be shunned? Stick with the hometown favorite. Blindly back-up the guy who your city loves. Now, when you do those things you become an idiotic fan with no real opinion and I wish all of those people would depart from my presence permanently. 

On the positive side of this view, sports is something that gives us a common ground. We don't have to come from the same backgrounds. We don't have to have much in common but if I see you wearing my favorite team's colors, i'm going to make a comment about it. Especially, if we are nomadic fans. By that, I mean fans who aren't just hometown lovers. I'm from Pittsburgh but my sports alliances are with teams and players elsewhere. So, it is more unlikely for me to see a Carolina Panthers fan in Pittsburgh. When I do, I feel like I have found a common ally in a war. 

Conflict Warriors

Speaking of war, that is exactly what sports are. People love conflict. People love drama. But, we don't love real conflict and drama. At least I don't. Who wants to live a life where they have to deal with unstable situations and worry about surviving the night. I don't want that to be my real life. However, I will gladly put on my war colors and put my heart on the line for my favorite team. If they lose and let me down, I will be hurt and angry for a few minutes, hours, maybe a day or two, but then i'll get ready for the next sport. 

At the end of the day, sports are purely for entertainment. They are the great drama that fills the stage in the same way that Shakespearean plays did in the past. We don't know what the outcome will be. We get excited, angry, anxious, and happy about every moment. We put our hopes and dreams into these sports alliances and we usually get a good show even if our team loses. Why are sports such a multi-million dollar industry? It's because they resonate so well with us. They give us everything that we want. There is a mix of all of those emotions available in an entertaining environment with a ton of conflict and drama.

Your Excuse

Next time you're sitting in front of the TV waiting for that game to start and your significant other walks in, here is your excuse. I can't stop it because of how i'm wired. I am addicted to sports and there is no breaking it. It is in my nature. Sports are able to give me a roller coaster mix of emotions in my life that I don't want otherwise. I watch sports not only for me, but for our relationship. There are times when I want to experience drama and conflict but I don't want to fight with you and have those issues. I want to have "created conflict." I want to have fake conflict that allows me to break away from the monotony of life.

In the end of the day, that is what sports gives us. It allows us to break away from the lives we live and experience camaraderie with one another, fighting for the greater good. We get to experience the up and downs of drama and conflict without having it directly impact our lives.

Check back tomorrow for the next blog. Blogs are coming 4 times per week. We're talking about athletes being role models tomorrow. Thanks for reading!

- Tim

End of the World Media

A Few Words

One thing that I learned over the last few years as a journalism student in college was the role of the media. I learned that the mass media was supposed to serve as a watchdog over important groups, organizations, and institutions. The main goal was to hold the government responsible and report the truth, and holding anyone in a position of power responsible and reporting the truth is what the media should do. I don't see much of that happening anymore. The media has turned into a mass scramble for ratings. It's become a write, report, say anything business, as long as you have one "source" you can pin it on. This has led to an "end of the world" daily report from the media. The smallest stories get blown out of proportion, or falsely reported. It's a sad disease that has infected most of the media in the U.S. 

Twitter Culture

With a scramble to be the first to report something and the ease of spreading a message to millions, the media has traveled down a bumpy road. There are countless issues that have been incorrectly reported through social media, such as, Twitter. 

One of my favorite to discuss is the misinformation of Joe Paterno's death. Some people look at it and say, "well he was on his death bed so it makes sense that they thought it was true." That isn't how the media is supposed to operate. When something seems likely, you investigate into it. You do your homework. Make some phone calls. Talk to a credible source. Don't take the word from some guy on the street in a Nittany Lion hat. Get in contact with his family, close friends, someone who can give you proof that he has died. 

The first people who reported it were the Onward State, an independent news organization out of Penn State. I wasn't that angry at them for making the mistake of reporting information from bad sources. If they made the sources up then I take issue. But, if they really had two people say, "hey Joe Pa's dead." I understand that you want to get that story out there. My issue is with the mainstream media. The CNN's and CBS Sports who saw the post from Onward State and decided to just run with it. They didn't make any attempts to check sources or anything. They just said, "we better get this out there before everyone else does," and that led to misinformation. You know who I respected the most in this incident. The news organization that said, "hold on a second. Let's make some phone calls and see if we can talk to his son, Jay, or someone close to him." Those people didn't look like fools and they were the heroes who showed everyone it wasn't true. 

In today's society, there is an opening for anyone to act like a reporter with cell phone cameras, smart phones, and etc. This puts the people who are actually paid to report information in a hot seat to get the information or take the information that this casual reporter finds and make sure it is factual and report it. It's hard to be honest when you have a boss breathing down your neck for you to get good ratings.

Heat Check

In this situation, there aren't fallacies being reported. This situation has overreactions constantly. When the Miami Heat win they are the greatest group of players to ever step on the floor. They are the tri-fecta - the father, son and the holy spirit on the court. When they lose... They need to trade Chris Bosh before the next game starts. Dwyane Wade is too old to be efficient and needs to retire. And, LeBron is a basket case who can't figure out if he wants to be a big man who scores inside or a distributor outside.

The overreaction of the media with teams like this is ridiculous. The Miami Heat are the perfect example of the "end of the world" and overreactions of the sports media. There is no analysis of what actually happened. There isn't a discussion of how the game actually went. The media just plays a name game where they call out everyone and don't back up why they're doing it. 

What happened to sportscasters being experts in the sports they're discussing. What happened to a time where we intently focus on the action on the court and try to make the best analysis off of that. If I look at this series, I see a Miami team that doesn't really respect San Antonio's abilities. That's why they didn't show up in Game 3. They beat the brains out of the Spurs in Game 2 and thought they could give 80% and still win by five. 

Now, if the Heat don't show up again tonight and fall behind 3-1, then I think it might be time to worry and then we can say they're in trouble. I haven't seen Miami really challenged in this series. They played a bad fourth quarter in Game 1 and chalked it up to fatigue. They blew San Antonio away in Game 2 and looked like they could win in 5. Then, they didn't show up in Game 3 after the dominating performance and now everyone is saying get rid of Bosh and Wade, the Big-3 era is over. 

The big-3 era might be over but it's not because of this series, and i'm not going to call for it to end. There are obvious issues with this team. Wade can't stay healthy anymore and Bosh has been turned into a two-guard in the four spot. Miami needs reliable talent around LeBron or he's going to scamper away to LA or Brooklyn or anywhere that will surround him with talent. They need a strong big man inside to pose a physical threat to the Hibbert's of the NBA. 

I'm not ready to say it's the end of the world for Miami, though. If they win this series, they very well could come back and win their third straight next year with the Big-3. It just doesn't look like they have it in them. Chicago was missing its best player and even though Miami won in 5, the Bulls bothered them. Indiana didn't have Danny Granger and took Miami to Game 7 and looked like the better team most of the time. Now the Spurs are up 2-1 heading into Game 4 tonight and Miami has to win three of five to take the trophy home. 

Here's my request sports media. Please stop making everything into a huge push for ratings. You don't have to fill me full of lies to sell your story. You can simply report good information and give me some insight that I might have overlooked. Educate the masses properly. Don't fill casual fans with nonsense that makes them think they are sports gurus. 

I'm tired of hearing some idiot regurgitate what he heard Magic Johnson and the NBA analysts say in the post game as his own information. Oh, you think Miami is in trouble and your reasons are exactly the same as Magic's? Damn, you'd make a great DVR if I missed the post game, but when it comes to having a real opinion or educated assessment on sports, just shut up. 

A Threat to the Best

Brief Intro

When I do this blog, I plan out some ideas that I want to discuss each week and then add in things that happen in sports to the overlying theme. Coming into today I wanted to do a piece about the characteristics of what makes someone the best at something. From skill set and work ethic to natural talent and confidence under pressure. But, last night and this morning, three stories unfolded and made me decide to slightly alter this conversation to talk about the threat to the best. 

The Best Bat in the Yard

Over the past several days a transcendent talent has appeared in baseball. A savior if you will. Yasiel Puig is a talent that makes people stop and stare at the TV when he is at the plate. Even though he has only played a little over a week in the majors, it's obvious that he is a talent that is few and far between. The kid possesses a raw talent that is capable of being sculpted into something the game of baseball hasn't seen in 20+ years. 

Remember though, he's an MLB player and baseball always does whatever it can these days to ruin good things. Last night, Puig and the Dodgers played the Diamondbacks. Arizona pitcher, Ian Kennedy, and his great 3-4 record with a 5.49 ERA decided to throw a ball right off of Puig's face in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Are you kidding me baseball?!? 

This 22-year-old phenom has people interested in your sport and this idiot Kennedy is going to fire a bullet at his face. I think it's time that baseball ends this archaic practice of throwing at people's heads and playing beanball. Massive fines need to be implemented. This has no place in a legitimate sport. There is no room for attempting to injure someone. Especially not the new face of the league (no pun intended). 

What would baseball do if this kid got his nose broken from that pitch, or worse, had some type of serious concussion that jeopardized his career from a pitch to the head. I think I know the answer to that. They'd become irrelevant again, just like they were heading toward before Puig. 

Yasiel Puig's Talent

Now that my rant about the idiocy of baseball is over, let's talk about what makes Puig such an amazing talent. He's a physical specimen. He looks different than anyone else on the field. This is what makes him the best player currently playing in the majors for me. He is the most athletic guy on the field every game. He doesn't need to have every nuance of the game down right away because he can allow his raw talent to carry him. He is one of those athletes who could play any sport successfully because he is just naturally gifted. Baseball better count their blessings every night that he chose them. And, they better hope idiots like Ian Kennedy don't ruin his career and the interest that he brings to the game. 

The Best Loses by 36

Two posts ago, I talked about how amazing LeBron James is and how I think the talent of the Heat will help them to win a second consecutive championship. Well, I didn't realize at the time that all of the players would flat-line in San Antonio. The Miami Heat's loss by 36 was a joke. They looked lackadaisical and apathetic most of the game. Other than a few spurts here and there, the Spurs were the dominant team. I have loved LeBron James since the second he entered the league and really embraced his move to Miami when so many people hated him. Last night was a stab in the heart for me, though. I couldn't even watch the game to its entirety because of the lack of care and effort Miami seemed to give. 

One of the best things that I heard last night was from Coach Erik Spoelstra. He said that San Antonio "outplayed us, and outclassed us from the very tip." 

He told the media that Miami got what they deserved. That gives me hope that he can focus these guys into a game 4 win, but what about game 5? Is Spoelstra going to have to excite his team into playing like it's the NBA finals how my mom did to get me to eat broccoli when I was a kid?

Here's what the conversation would look like:

"C'mon LeBron. If you play your hardest and we win three of these next four games then you get a ring. Doesn't a pretty ring sound nice?" - Coach Spoelstra

"I don't know coach. I already got one last year. Plus, Chris and Dwyane got mad at me when I willed us to victory against Indiana. So, I think I should just give them a turn to win it for us. - LeBron James

You are the most athletically gifted talent to ever play the game, surrounded by many capable players and several future hall of famers, but you can't get motivated to work your asses off on the biggest stage of your sport in every game? 

It's pathetic. It's amateur. It's everything that is wrong with our society. Instead of going out and playing as hard as you can and probably winning in five like you did last year against Oklahoma City, you'll just show up for four of the seven games and hope that it's enough? 

I hate to be the overly critical guy after something small happens because that would be hypocritical of me since I bashed on people like Magic Johnson for saying the Heat are in trouble after game one. But, there seems to be something wrong with the Heat. They could still win this series. All they have to do is win one game in San Antonio and they will have two home games to close it out. 

King James

I have been saying it for three years now. When it's all said and done, LeBron will have a great resume that says he is the greatest player to ever play the game, and I will support that claim. When you have a sports obsession with someone like I do LeBron, you tend to be overly supportive or critical of what they do. I try to stay away from extremes. So, now that I've gone on my rant of how disappointed in Miami I am, let's look at what they have going for them.

LeBron James is the best player in the league. He has the body to bang in the low post and aggressively dominate the paint. He doesn't want to do that, though. He would rather work from the outside in. He'd rather make a clean pass to a teammate over a great inside finish. But, LeBron is going to have to step out of his comfort zone to beat the Spurs. He had to do it last series to beat the Pacers. He had to do it last year to beat the Celtics and Thunder.

I'm not sure what's going on in the Heat locker room but I feel like LeBron's "go back to my Cleveland days" statement made the likes of Wade and Bosh butt hurt. It wasn't like he was lying when he said that. He had nobody contributing help to him in any substantial way. He had to take over games and do things on his own. He got a good contribution from Wade in game 7 against the Pacers, but Wade isn't nearly the player he was three years ago. 

In order for Miami to win this series, LeBron is going to have to take over in an aggressive way. He can't spend the first half of the game looking to get his teammates involved. He has to attack. He has to score 35 or 45 points with 8 assists and a bunch of rebounds. He has to be a part of every play. He has to be more than that. He has to be the key part of every play. Sorry to tell you this King James, but you have to go back to your Cleveland days. The only difference this time is that you better pieces around you. Your two elite teammates aren't playing to that level, but can still contribute. Plus, Ray Allen, Birdman, Mike Miller, and Mario Chalmers are all giving you just as much or more than Wade and Bosh.

I predict that LeBron comes out in game 4 angry and aggressive. If he can be successful at attacking the Spurs then Miami should win this series. If he continues to defer to his teammates in order to keep them happier, then the Big-3 in Miami will be a failure. 

The Best on the Bench

The final story that happened in the past 24 hours of sports was the contract extension of Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. He was granted an extension through the 2015-2016 season. I'm not sure why he was given this extension. Cue up typical Pittsburgh fan. "He's taken us to the playoffs year after year and he knows how to handle all them talents out there." Oh...does he? 

Is that why Jerome Iginla came over and was played out of position the entire playoffs? Is that why no major adjustments were made in the series against Boston to get some scoring? Is that why the lines changed every game and no chemistry was ever built? Is that why you have arguably the two best offensive players in the league on your team and only scored two goals against Boston. Well, if Bylsma did a job worthy of receiving a contract extension, i'm going to get into the Penguins organization tomorrow. 

"Hey Tim, in this web content position for the Penguins store we have the capabilities to write about 30 product descriptions per day. We expect you to average around 20-25, though." 

Two weeks go by, my average is 10 per day. 

"Tim. Great job you're doing out there. We've decided to promote you to web content manager and we're going to give you a big raise. Great work out there." 

I don't care if the guy won a Stanley Cup for Pittsburgh in 2009. I don't care that they had the second best record in the league this season, or any of that. The Penguins GM Ray Shero makes a ton of moves to add talent every year at the trade deadline and Bylsma hasn't been able to handle it since 2009. 

So, what's this Bylsma situation have to do with being the best at something when I clearly don't think he is? 

Illusion. The ability to conceal your flaws behind the talent of others. That is what Dan Bylsma has done with this team. I once compared him and Erik Spoelstra because they both were younger guys with a ton of talent around them. I'd like to take a moment to apologize to Spo. He holds his guys accountable. He tells them that they got thrashed because they didn't give enough effort and he's going to put in the work to make them better. Bylsma watches his goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, get thrashed and says he'll be back next year as the starter. He'll be the one in goal in the playoffs winning games for us and we won't need Vokoun like we did this year.

I understand trying to give your guy some confidence but don't throw the guy who helped you get to the finals under the bus. Be a good coach and evaluate your guys over the off-season. Understand that if Fleury stays in goal, the Penguins exit in the first round again. Look back at all of the game play and see what each guy brings you, then make a statement like that. Or ship Fleury off to the Colorado Avs and call it a day. Apparently, Bylsma perfectly fits with the Pittsburgh attitude. 

"You've underachieved with exceptional talent for four years in a row? Great. Here's a promotion. See you eliminated from the playoffs before the Stanley Cup Finals again next year!" 

End Credits

Thanks for stopping by and reading another Sports Microcosm! Tomorrow is going to be a great post that touches on the life and death nature of everything by the sports media. Is it really as big of a deal as they make it out to be...I doubt it! See you tomorrow! 

- Tim 

The Colossal Fall of Baseball in America

It starts with the kids

When you think of how most American sports operate for bringing up the next level of talent, it goes something similar to this. Your son is about to graduate high school and is a major prospect in football. He has had several college football coaches like Urban Meyer, Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin, and Les Miles come and visit him saying how they would love to  have him on their team. He selects a college, spends three years at the school, breaks a bunch of records, is rated by Mike Mayock as the top player at his position, and ends up as the fourth pick in the NFL draft. He gets a beautiful 2-year contract worth around $8 or 9 million and makes an immediate impact as the new face of the franchise.

Now let's turn to baseball. Your first son's twin is about to graduate high school and is a major prospect in baseball. Instead of college coaches, he has several scouts from the majors looking to scout him. He ends up getting drafted in the first round of the MLB draft straight out of high school. That's great, isn't it? Wrong! Your son hasn't had a life the past few years because he has been forced to play on a travel team all year around so he can prove to the major league that he can handle a long, grueling season. He's lost his entire social life and as the 10th pick in the MLB draft, it looks like it's going to all pay off. Nope, not yet. He was picked by the Kansas City Royals. Kansas City sounds like a nice destination. But, he's going to play AA ball for a few years with the Northwestern Arkansas Nobodys. So, now it's three years later and your first son just got drafted to the NFL. He will be the face of the franchise this year. Son 2 hasn't had the same luck. He's moved up to AAA with the Omaha Almosts and a trade by the Royals has them holding good depth at his position in the majors. Finally, another two years pass by and son 2 has his opportunity in the majors.

Those two anecdotes are the starting point for the grim future of baseball. Most kids in the U.S. don't want to take the route that has them playing in the minors with the Chattanooga Irrelevants for two years. If a kid has raw talent like a Yasiel Puig, he doesn't play baseball in the U.S. He becomes the next LeBron James because he can be on billboards by the time he's 20. He also gets to keep his social life and doesn't have to give up everything to solely focus on making it in baseball.

A.D.D. Generation

It's still those damn kids causing problems! "Baseball is too slow of a sport. I don't have time to sit there for three hours and think strategy." I've said this for the past several years and I'll admit that i'm part of the problem. My generation wasn't raised sitting around the radio listening to the Twilight Zone. All of the 20-somethings were raised on computers, video games and all sorts of technology that makes living life faster. We love sports that are action packed and intense. "Oh wow, he's paralyzed because that linebacker smashed his face in. Awesome!!" Those are the type of things the current generation says. "Wow, going for the sac fly was brilliant strategy," said no one ever in the A.D.D. generation. 

Everything about baseball is a turn-off to our current generation. The game is too long and doesn't have enough action. The season is too long and too many games don't mean anything. I think most fans are smart and when they live in cities like Cleveland and Pittsburgh, it's hard to get excited when the team wins 20 out of 25 early on every season and still ends up under .500.  

The A.D.D. generation is a "what have you done for me lately" generation. If something isn't constantly at the level people want it to be at, then they leave it behind. 

Economic Woes

America isn't as prosperous as it once was. The younger generation is graduating with more college debt than it ever has before and there are less jobs waiting for those kids. So, decisions have to be made. Hmm...I have an extra $100 I can spend in New York City. Should I go attend a concert in Central Park of an music icon? Or maybe I could go to Times Square and just enjoy a day there with some friends. Or I could go to Radio City Music Hall, Coney Island, several zoos, Carnegie Hall, catch the Staten Island Ferry, Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, the Comedy Cellar, catch a Brooklyn Nets game, a New York Jets game, a New York Giants game, go to the Apollo Theater, the Beacon Theatre, Webster Hall, or a Yankees or Mets game.

I love sports more than most things. I would spend my money at 85% of those places before I went to a baseball game. The numbers say i'm not alone.

2011 - New York Yankees Attendance - 89% of their stadium filled

2012 - New York Yankees Attendance - 87% of their stadium filled

2013 - New York Yankees Attendance - 77% of their stadium filled

The Yankees are trying to sell tickets through GroupOn offers. Nobody wants to go to see one of the leagues most exciting teams play. But Tim...a bunch of their stars are hurt. That's true but not an excuse. It's just a result of the area. There are always 5,000 other things to do in New York City every time the Yankees play a game. 

You know where there isn't a ton of stuff to do every night, Milwaukee. They're down almost 4,000 people per game from last season. The entire league is down almost 1,000 people per game and almost a million less people have attended this season compared to this time last year. 

Here is the entire team by team list, comparing attendance from this year to last year from baseball-reference.com

The numbers don't show a good future for baseball if it continues this downward trend. 

Performance Enhancment

No, this isn't the part of the blog where I give my advice on how to save baseball. This is the part where I talk about how PEDs drove the first dagger into America's Pastime. When you have suspicions that your spouse is cheating on you, there is probably going to be some bumps in the road as you try to find out if it is true or not.

When your closest friends, relatives, and random strangers bring you pictures, videotapes, phone records, text messages and a pile of evidence showing she is cheating on you - you leave her. 

That's what baseball did to us. It cheated on us. We were so gullible, though. Did we really think a scrawny, ridiculously quick kid playing with the Pirates could naturally grow into the Hulk when he moved to San Francisco and became the home-run king? 

The hints and suspicions were always right there under our noses. We just turned the other cheek. Why? Because baseball was so damn exciting then! Who doesn't want to see McGwire and Sosa battle each other back and forth all year to see who can get to 70 first? People like apparent drama and conflict. Nobody likes real drama and conflict, though. When we get too much drama and conflict it stops being fun. It starts getting annoying. I, along with almost every sports enthusiast I have talked to, feel the same way about the steroid era in baseball. We're all hurt that it happened and that so many people did it, and we're tired of hearing about it. 

Most of us have lost faith in baseball ever getting back to being clean. How could we with more and more news coming out everyday about A-Rod and Ryan Braun shopping at Miami's local shady drug store. How can I have faith in the game being legitimate?

I'm an upstanding citizen. I don't have time to deal with shady back-alley deals and cheaters. I want a loyal woman to spend my life with. A legitimate job that pays fair with clean money that they legally earned. I don't want to deal with people who have secret passwords, special knocks and tell me to meet them around back because the police have been patrolling the neighborhood. If the police are patrolling my neighborhood, i'm not worried because i'm not a criminal. 

Sorry baseball, you've cheated, become outdated, take way too long to get anything done and today's generation doesn't have time for you. We're going to go watch football, basketball, hockey, golf, tennis, soccer, auto racing. Last year, the World Series averaged a 7.6 through the Nielsen Ratings. Game 2 pulled a 12.2. The Big Bang Theory, Person of Interest, and Two and a Half Men all pulled higher numbers competing with that second game.  People will watch literally anything other than baseball. Because we're tired of being lied to, cheated on, and stolen from.

It's been a good ride baseball, but I think you know where the exit is. 

Structure vs Talent

The Introduction

Welcome to the Sports Microcosm. Telling you what this blog is all about will only take a few lines. Howard Cosell said, "Sports is human life in microcosm." So, this isn't a sports blog about X's and O's, it's a sports blog about the connections that life and sports have together.

Let's get started...

Structure vs. Talent

As I have watched the NBA and NHL playoffs, I have heard some discussions about teams who "have a system" and teams who "have top-tier players." For instance, a lot of people would say that the Miami Heat are a team of talent. They have the best player in the world, two other superstar talents, and a bunch of guys who are talented at shooting 3-pointers. The San Antonio Spurs have a system in place. They have structure in their system that can elevate B-quality players to a higher level. 

The structure vs. talent discussion reminds me of those kids in high school who get great grades. I'm talking Valedictorian level. Most of them aren't the kids with the highest IQ who are naturally gifted with intelligence. They're usually a kid who has a decent head on his shoulders, works really hard, studies for an hour every day, always remembers to do his homework and gets a 4.2 GPA because of it. 

The brilliantly intelligent genius doesn't spend all of his time studying. He usually isn't challenged enough by high school and ends up with a 3.6 or 3.7 because he slacked off here and there and knew it wouldn't matter because his SAT scores obliterate everyone. 

Structure always works if the effort is put in. If you have a system that is solid and structured and someone who is above a seventh grade intelligence level then you can sculpt them into a 4.0 student.  

Talent is talent. If you have the tools then you are going to pull that 3.5 with 10 minutes of studying a week and your natural ability carrying you the rest of the way. 

Is talent better than structure? Yes. Talent is better than having structure and here's why. 

If you have a system and rigidly follow it then you will have a great opportunity to be steadily successful. What about when you take a day off? We're all human and sometimes make mistakes. You don't follow the system for a few days and you're a little bit off of your execution. 

Talent doesn't worry about that. Yes, everyone can have an off day but raw talent is getting a 3.6 with minimal effort. Structure can get a 4.0 if it works really hard and adheres to all the components of the system. 

If structure doesn't execute then you have a middle of the road kid who doesn't have the common sense and critical thinking to execute and he gets a 2.8. Talent always has a 3.5 right there because it's not a system, it's inherent. 

Even though I say that talent is better, a system can beat talent and there is a perfect example of that within the past week. The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. 

Boston dominated the Penguins and swept them 4-0, allowing only two goals in the entire series. The Penguins made trade deadline moves to add talent to an already talented group and easily became the favorite to win the Eastern Conference and most likely the Stanley Cup.

Jerome Iginla, Brendan Morrow, Douglas Murray, and Jussi Jokinen all came over to the Penguins close to the trade deadline. These four players joined the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Chris Letang, Pascal Dupuis, and Chris Kunitz to put together one of the most talented NHL teams in recent memory. 

But, they never seemed to click. The Penguins struggled with the Islanders in the first round and that was chalked up to Marc-Andre Fleury not living up to expectations in the playoffs. Then, the Penguins cruised past the Senators but never looked like they played as good as they possibly could have. After over a week of rest while the other series were ending, the Penguins faced Boston.

Now, I didn't follow the Bruins nearly as close as the Penguins because i'm in Pittsburgh and get all of their games broadcast to me. But, I saw a system in Boston that was fantastic. My friend commented at how Boston made so many crisp passes to set up scoring chances while the Penguins struggled to make plays. "Why can't we do that?" he said. 

The answer is simple. Boston had a system in place. They had structure that put guys with professional sports talent together and built up chemistry to make plays offensively and defensively.

The Penguins clearly had more talent than the Boston Bruins and i'd have to question your intelligence if you said otherwise. Pittsburgh didn't have much else beyond that great talent, though. They were out-coached four straight games. They didn't have the positioning and chemistry needed to compete with Boston. Most of the time it looked like they were playing a pick-up game where one guy takes over and everyone else tries to guess where he's going with the play. 

The Bruins' structure beat the Penguins talent. I think the Heat's talent will beat the Spurs structure, though.

Why?

The Heat don't just rely on talent. They execute and make necessary adjustments. I've heard people say that they could coach the Heat to a championship with no basketball experience, but they couldn't. Erik Spoelstra has been around basketball his entire life and is a very capable coach. He made adjustments in game two that helped Miami dominate in the second half. He had the talented pieces on the court that made the adjustments work, but you need a mix of both. 

In order to win championships, you need to be that kid who gets a 4.5 GPA. It doesn't matter if you're mainly talent with a good enough system, or if you're a flawless system with capable talent. With all things even, talent always finds a way to win. But, a good system with capable talent can be an equalizer. 

Structure vs. Talent by Sport

NBA - In the structure vs. talent battle in basketball, I give the nod to talent. With only five players per side, and the ability for one person to take over a game, talent brings much more to the table than structure. You can get there with structure but you definitely need talent. LeBron had little talent surrounding him in Cleveland and not the best coaching structure, but his raw talent was able to take the Cavs deep into the playoffs several times. When he leaves, the team becomes one of the worst in the league. 

NHL - This one is the biggest mix to me. NHL is such a game of positioning and timing that I have to lean toward structure. You can have all the talent in the world (i.e. Pittsburgh) and if you don't execute properly then you're not going to win. If you have guys who are capable of being professional sports talent in hockey, a good structure will give you that extra lift. That's one reason I think the Chicago Blackhawks are so successful. They have some fantastic talents in Marian Hossa, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook and Patrick Kane, add in great coaching by Joel Quenneville and they have a perfect balance of talent and structure.

NFL - With so much strategy and so many players on the field at once, I give the nod to structure in football. I will add that a transcendent talent in a skill position can make a huge change, though. Especially at the QB position. The Denver Broncos have a great system on all sides of the ball. Insert Tim Tebow at the helm and they make the playoffs, pull off an upset but never really scare anyone into thinking they were a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Add Peyton Manning and the Broncos become a hands-down Super Bowl favorite. Now, the result was the same in both years, the Broncos didn't make it past the second round. But, the upside for Denver was infinitely higher with a talent like Peyton Manning in control. 

MLB - Baseball gets a draw on the talent vs. structure discussion. There are so many minor details in baseball that a system must be in place for a team to have success. However, a Justin Verlander can come in every five days, throw the lights out of the place and give your team a win. Just as a superstar like Miguel Cabrera can come to the plate and get the big hit whenever you need it. In order to sustain success you need a strong system but when you have an athletic guy like the one that just blossomed in Los Angeles, things get much easier for you. 

Thanks for reading the first blog post on Sports Microcosm. Check back in tomorrow for the second post discussing why baseball is no longer America's pastime. 

- Tim Durr